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Some historical facts about April Fools Day

April Fools day became popular in 1700. The popular annual tradition of playing jokes was popularized by English pranksters. Yet, the tradition dates back to earlier times than one may think. The certain origin of the tradition is still a mystery.

Historians suspect that Fools’ Day was celebrated since 1582. The year of France’s switch from Julian calendar to Georgian. Yet, April Fool’s day became popular in Britain during the 18th century.

In the early Middle ages in Europe, April 1st was celebrated as The Feast of Fools. The origins come from Northern France. The Feast of Fools was celebrated wildly until 1431 when it was banned by the Council of Basel. Yet, the tradition was kept and celebrated in a more reserved level till 1644.

Till 16th century Europe celebrated the New Year’s day on April 1st. After that, the day moved on January 1st. It is worthy to mention that the name “April” comes from the Latin word “Aperire” which means opening. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII ordered to create a new calendar which is used nowadays. That is when the Georgian calendar came to replace the Julian.

Nowadays April Fool’s day is automatically associated with pranks and who can make the best ones. One of the funniest and memorable pranks was broadcasted by BBC in 1957 when they reported and showed a footage of Swiss farmers harvesting noodles from trees.